Chocolate Frogs: A Collection of Short Stories
by Astro Latte
Summary: Short vignettes and drabbles, sweet enough to keep you happy and wanting more. New chapters added at my leisure.
1. Confession

**Confession **

"You're gonna marry me one day."

Lily instantly dropped her copy of Advanced Potion-Making and met the eyes of the boy who just blurted such a statement. James Potter was sitting adjacent to her in a large armchair, same as her own. His playful blue eyes danced behind his glasses as he stared at her idly. After six years of his "confessions of love" for her, she had thought she heard it all. That was, until this cold winter night.

"I beg your pardon, Potter." she gaped as she bent over to retrieve her book. "What did you ju-"

"You're going to marry me," he said, as if he were telling her something as simple as the weather. "You're going to marry me, and we're going to live in a small flat in west London together and live happily ever after."

With that, he jumped from his armchair and climbed up to the boy's dormitory, leaving the girl alone in his wake.

Lily went back to her book and snorted to herself.

"Fat chance."


	2. Insanity

**Insanity**

She would have normally been disappointed with herself for wasting her free period. A free period where she could be perfecting her potions essay, desperately trying to show Harry that depending on the "Half-Blood Prince" was completely insane.

For the first time, though, none of that really seemed important to her. At that very moment, she knew the only place where she needed to be was by his bedside.

"Er-my-nee," he croaked and Hermione instantly leaned over and brushed the stray hairs from his forehead.

"Shhh," she whispered. "It's alright, Ron, you're okay."

He groaned incomprehensibly, and with a content sigh, fell silent.

Hermione couldn't help but smile. How wonderful it was that he was murmuring "Er-my-nee" (although it wasn't her name, it was close enough for her liking) instead of "Lav Lav".

Madam Promfrey hurried out of her office, and began straightening up the cot next to Ron's.

"Not that it's any of my business," she said quickly, fluffing pillows. "A Ms. Lavender Brown should be on her way this moment to visit him."

Hermione quickly nodded, taking the hint and grabbed her bag making her way out.

Down the hallway she heard the pitter-patter of Lavender's footsteps. As the two girls passed each other, Lavender made sure to send Hermione the filthiest look she could muster before turning into the hospital wing.


	3. Curiosity

**Curiosity**

Having her rest on his chest was all he needed. Her warmth, her sweet scent, her presence itself made him the happiest wizard in all of london.

As he began to drift off into a peaceful slumber, he felt the unbuttoning of his shirt and fingers lightly touching his skin.

He sighed with defeat, knowing full well what was going on.

"Ginny," He groaned. "For the last time, I do not have a hippogriff tattooed on my chest."

The search continued and he sighed, "Or a Hungarian Horntail."

The red head withdrew her hands, and her eyes met his in an almost childish glaze. "I was just checking."


	4. Objection

**Objection **

"How about William, for William Shakespeare!"

"For the hundredth time, no! There is no way I am naming my son William. I already have a brother named 'Bill' and personally I think the name is girlie."

"We could call him Willie."

Ron groaned and curled into a ball on the sofa, pretending to cry.

"Fine, William is out." Hermione sighed crossing the name, her list of possible baby names was quickly diminishing. The couple had agreed that since Ron had named Rose, it was only fair that she would have the honor of naming their soon-to-be-born son.

It was only natural that Hermione wanted to name her first-born son after a famous author.

"Oh, what about Agnes, for Agnes Giberne!"

Ron groaned louder.

With an exasperated sigh, she crossed out the name and stared at the ceiling, "You can't just keep shooting down names, Ron!"

"Hermione, our son will not be named Agnes!" Ron fought. "There's no way, he'll be miserable his entire life!"

"Miserable...miserable..." Hermione thought out loud. "Victor H-"

"Over my bloody dead body," Ron yelled rising to his feet. "I will not name him after that prat Victor Krum, so you can just forget it!"

"I knew you would say that," Hermione rolled her eyes. "And it wasn't after Victor Krum, I was thinking of Victor Hugo. How about the name Hugo?"

Ron sat up and blinked at his wife. "Hugo...Ronald Weasley?"

Hermione nodded hopefully, as he rubbed his chin in thought. This was the first time he even considered any name she mentioned.

"Hugo...Ronald...Weasley..."

"Ron!" Hermione snapped. "Do you like the name or not?"

The red head smiled, "You know...I do. I really do."

Hermione squealed and hugged her husband tight.

"As long as there is no trace of Victor in his name..."


	5. Realization

**Realization**

Harry lay awake for a long time, his mind was still reeling from the night before. He was now free to live a semi-normal life, no longer was it destined for anything. He could do whatever he wanted, he was free.

He still found it strange, though, how much Snape had affected his life. It wasn't easy to see your archenemy in a new light. However, it suddenly dawned on Harry that if Snape merely never say what he did, there was a good chance that he would've...

"MERLIN'S PANTS!" Harry yelled as bolted up in his bed. His shout so loud it most likely woke half the castle. "SNAPE COULD'VE BEEN MY FATHER!"


	6. Identity

**Identity**

Heaven was not exactly what he thought it would be. For example, the interior was so fluffy it reminded him of a bunch of Pygmy Puffs floating around. Also, he didn't really expect to see a giant, blinking, neon-sign that read, _"Heaven"_ in the front.

"Next!" A voice boomed from somewhere ahead, and the crowd stepped forward.

Fred looked around, people watching. Everyone seemed to have a dazed, contented expression on their face. This seem really werid to him. He felt good, but not _that_ good.

"Next!"

Actually, he was growing bored.

"Next!" he voice yelled again, sounding very irritated.

Fred was nudged in the back, and the man behind him said with a smile, "He's talking to you, young man."

With a start, the red head make a jog to the head of the line, wondering how the line had shorten so quickly.

"Name?" asked the elderly man sitting at what looked like a giant judicial podium, quill ready.

"Fred Weasley," he said smiling. "And you are?"

"I am St. Peter," he replied coldly, looking over his book. "There's no way you're Fred Weasley."

"Um, I'm pretty sure I am, mate."

"Please," he snorted. "If you're Fred Weasley than I'm Harry Potter."

"Well if you're Harry Potter," Fred said crossing his arms. "Then I'm Ron Weasley."

"If you're Ron Weasley," St. Peter retorted. "I'm Fred Weasley."

"You can't be Fred Weasley!"

"And why not?"

"Because _I'm_ Fred Weasley!"

Growing tired of the ludicrous fight, St. Peter rubbed his temples and grumbled something incoherent under his breath. Fred raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Stay put!" he snapped, hopping down from his chair and turning to a small service door which opened right in front of Fred at the bottom of the very tall podium.

St. Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of thick glasses and squinted at him. In almost an instant he jumped back with a start.

"You...You really _are _Fred Weasley!" the old man said and dashed back through the service door and up to the top of the podium. There he began flipping through his book frantically, double checking to see if it was right. He slowly looked down at the him with the most baffled look Fred had ever seen.

"How the hell did you make it _here_?"


	7. Supremacy

**Supremacy **

He lost his balance and fell hard into the snow.

"Give it up, Potter." he heard her sneer as her footsteps grew closer.

"Never!" he shouted, trying to lift himself from the ground. He was then pelted with an icy snowball.

"My name isn't Victoire for nothing, you know." the tall blonde laughed, and two younger girls made their way behind her.

"It looks like my brother and Al made a run for it," Rose said looking around. "Some team mates."

"Did he give up yet, Victoire?" asked Lily. "It's getting really cold out here."

"I will never give up!" said James, reaching for a handful a snow. Rose threw her own snowball at him.

"Stop being stubborn," she scolded. "Look, your teammates already ga-"

There was a loud, high-pitched whistle from above, causing James and the girls to look up. Hovering on broomsticks were Al and Hugo, both were holding what appeared to be two large buckets of snow.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" they bellowed as the snow rained upon the screaming girls.

"NO FAIR!" Victorie screamed, using her long arms as a shield. "YOU CAN'T USE BROOMS!"

"THAT'S CHEATING!" Rose yelled at her brother.

"I'M TELLING MOM!" Lily cried, as the cold snow she was just complaining about dropped on her.

Feet away in a small house, Fleur poured tea, remarking how nice it was that the children were getting along. The other adults nodded, blissfully unaware to the war raging outside.


	8. Bliss

**Bliss**

The morning light creped through the shudders of the bedroom, engulfing the room in an almost angelic effect. The light danced around the room, surrounding the two bodies tangled in sheets on the cool bedroom floor.

The young women rested her head on her husband's strong chest in complete bliss. He wrapped his arm loosely around her tiny waist. Slowly his hand slid beneath her breast teasing the flesh, running his fingers over her ribs.

If every morning started like this one had, Hermione was sure she would never get out of bed.

"What are you thinking about?"

She was ripped from her thoughts and looked up to see the soften eyes of Ron Weasley. He had asked her the same question after their first round of lovemaking. She gave him the same answer she gave the night before.

"Everything and nothing," she smiled weakly and nuzzled the sensitive part of his chest. "How about you?"

"Eh...satisfactory." he teased, and Hermione lightly hit him on the chest. "I'm kidding."

"Shut up."

"It was wonderful...both times." He gathered her up in his arms and kissed her neck. "You're wonderful...have I told you that?"

"You sort of groaned it last night."

"Well I'm saying it now...you're wonderful and I'm crazy for you."

She smirked and he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What's with the face?"

"It's nothing."

"I've known you long enough to know when you say 'nothing' it means something," he switched there positions so he was now on top of her, pinning her wrist to the floor.

"Am I the only one who thinks it funny that we never thought of using the perfectly warm bed last night?"

"We were a bit too preoccupied to think of that," His face grew stern and serious. "Stop trying to change the subject and tell me."

"When?"

"Now would be prefer-"

"I mean, when did you start thinking I was so wonderful?"

"When?" Ron repeated and his face grew serious. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to laugh."

"Cross my heart," She made the motion to emphasis.

"Remember our second year when we spent all that time trying to figure out about the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Yes?"

"And you were petrified?"

"Yes?"

"Then was when I realized that I fancied you a bit. I suppose seeing how hard you worked on that Polyjuice Potion showed me just how brilliant and wonderful you were. You never gave up and always tried your best. After you were attacked, it really threw me off." Ron met her eyes and smiled. "I visited you everyday, you know."

Hermione pursed her lips together, "Did you really?"

Ron blushed and nodded sheepishly.

"Oh Ron," she took his freckled hand and kissed it. "You're such a romantic."

"I'm not a romantic...all I said was that's when I knew you were wonderful. Do you realized how confused I was when I started to fancy my best friend? Don't even get me started on our fourth year...I was about to punch that Krum fella right in the bracket!" He gathered her up in his arms, "You promised you wouldn't make fun of me."

"I'm not...I'm just surprised." she giggled. "Who would think you, the man with the emotion range of a tea spoon, was so wishy-washy?"

"Okay, now I'm going to make you pay for making fun of me." Ron leaned in for a kiss, but was denied by the swipe of Hermione's hand.

"No can do," she frowned. "I have work to finish, and you need to get this room straightened up."

Hermione broke free from the his grasp and went around the room, picking up her various clothing. As she slipped into her robe, her eyes met with Ron's.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"I miss you already." he smiled, and Hermione's heart melted.


	9. Anxiety

**Anxiety **

The tiny velvet box made a clapping nose as it opened in the boy's hand.

"Open."

Clap.

"Close."

Clap.

"Open."

Clap.

"Close."

Clap.

"Ope-"

"JAMES!"

The young boy looked up at his mother through his amber hair. "What?"

Ginny spun around, placing a hand on her tiny hip. "Stop that!"

Teddy Lupin sat on the sofa, his hair switching between a pale blue to nearly white. He played with the tiny box as James sat next to him, like a news anchor, annocing it's actions. After being scolded, he decided to entertain himself by announcing when the older's boy's hair would change instead.

"Blue...white...blue...white...blue..."

"James!" Harry scolded, and the boy instantly stopped.

"It's alright," Teddy said, smiling shyly. "He's just trying to calm my nerves."

"Well he's getting on mine!" Ginny gave her eldest son a look and went back to cooking dinner.

James, taking the hint, got up from his seat next to Teddy and sat next to his brother who was calmly flipping through a book. Harry took the vacant spot and looked at his god son.

"It's okay if you're nervous," he said softly, patting his shoulder. "But there shouldn't be a doubt in your mind that she'll say yes."

Teddy nodded, however his demeanor didn't change

"If you're still unsure, you could always flip a coin." Al said, without looking up from his book.

"Or read tea leafs." added James.

"Do I have to send _both _of you upstairs?" Ginny cried, as she waved her wand to set the table.

Teddy's face became as white as his hair, he looked up at Harry for support.

"Don't listen to them," he sighed. "Divination is a joke anyway."

There was a loud ruckus coming from the upstairs bedroom. Soon after, Lily appeared running down the stairs all full speed. Nearly out of breath, she skidded in front of the young man with a childish smile on her face.

"Teddy!" she cried and motioned him to stick out his hand. When he did so, she quickly reached into her jumper and pulled out a small, pink stone. She handed it to him.

"What's this?" he asked softly.

"My good luck charm," she smiled proudly. "I'm sure if you have it she'll say yes."

"That's stupid." Both boys said simultaneously from the sofa.

"No it's not!" she fought, twisting her little face in a pout.

"That's it," Ginny cried, finally loosing her patience. "If you two can't behave yourselves than go upstairs and wash your hands."

"But we already did that! " Al fought.

"Then do it again," Ginny sneered, and both boys ran upstairs, knowing better than to cross their mother. She could be brutal when she wanted to.

Harry couldn't help but smile at his sons' antics, and crossed the room to help his wife finish dinner. Meanwhile Teddy rolled the tiny stones between his fingers with a smile. He leaned over to the little girl and whispered in her ear,

"Thanks to this, I'm positive she'll say yes. Thank you."

Lily smiled wide and kissed Teddy on the cheek, "You better be a good husband to Victorie, or else."

He made the motion of crossing his heart, when suddenly the door bell rang.

"They're here," Harry said, loud enough for the two boys to run downstairs and greet their relatives. He turned to Teddy, "Ready?"

With a smile, his hair turned into a solid shade of blue. "As I'll ever be."


	10. Destiny

**Destiny **

He was never good when it came to choosing outfits. Clothes to him were one of those girl things he just couldn't comprehend, and didn't really want to.

Standing in front of the full view mirror in their bedroom, Ron compared two ties. He didn't want to look like a slob at little James' christening. If he even dared he was sure his sister would slaughter him. Not to mention he would loose his title at godfather, a place he had to fight tooth and nail with George to get.

With an exasperated sigh, he spun around to face his wife who was lounging on their bed flipping through a book. Somehow she had managed to get ready in less than ten minutes.

"Which do you think would look better," He held up a striped tie and a maroon tie. "I can't decide."

Not even bothering to look up from her book Hermione replied, "The maroon one."

With a groan, Ron flopped down next to her. "You just said that because you know I hate maroon."

Leisurely she flipped a page. "No I didn't."

"Fine," he said, putting both ties behind his back and switching their locations. "Left or right?"

Another page was turned, "Right."

Ron pulled out his right hand to see the dreaded maroon tie.

"You cheated!" he fought and Hermione rolled her eyes.

Not admitting defeat, Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out a small coin.

"Now what are you doing?"

"If It lands heads, I go with the striped. Tails I go with the Maroon."

"Ron, that's ridic-"

"Here we go!" He flipped the coin and watched as it landed on the bed.

It was tails.

"That didn't count. It slipped."

He flipped it again, and it landed tails.

"Once more."

Tails.

He tried again.

Tails.

And again.

Tails.

"Is this a bloody two tailed coin or something?"

"Just face it Ron," Hermione said as she sat up and headed to find her heels. "You and maroon are meant for each other."

Ron stared at the tie in his hands in defeat.

"...but I hate maroon."


	11. Provocative

**Provocative **

"Have you ever kissed someone before?"

They had been babysitting together on this cold winter night. Christmas had passed and the children were preoccupied upstairs with their new toys. Downstairs, though, they had been alone together. He had been reading one of his school textbooks, while she put off doing all homework successfully by resting her head on the kitchen table.

The question had caught him off guard, and left him virtually speechless.

"I-I beg your pardon?" his voice cracked.

She sat up, swung her long legs around the chair and faced him. "Have you ever kissed someone before?"

At this, he turned a deep shade of red, "I...well...I haven't gotten around to it yet...I've been really busy...you know..being head boy and all."

She rested her head in her hands, her blue eyes mocking him.

"Don't give me that!" he retorted. "It's not as if I don't want to...it's just...I..I'm..."

"Scared?" she questioned innocently. "Nervous?"

"It's not that...I just..."

"Kiss me."

After she said that, he was surprised his head did not explode from the amount of blood that rushed into his cheeks at once. She wasn't even subtle in her request. She just flat out demanded that he kiss her.

Was that even allowed?

He wasn't sure. He was never really good with girls, especially ones that he liked.

She gracefully rose from her chair, made her way to his corner of the room, and flopped into his personal space on the carpet. Her long, blond hair had fallen into her eyes, and he felt the dire need to bush it away. Just to see if it felt just as silky as it look.

She was intoxicating. He was drunk on her beauty.

"Your hair is changing color," she noted, as she moved closer to his face.

"Uh huh..." was his response. One would think he would be much more articulate when living out his fantasy.

"Should I take that as a compliment?" She was close now, he could smell the dinner they had just eaten on her breath.

"Uh huh..."

They were mere micro-meters away from each other. He could already feel her soft, moist lips on his. Should he take a deep breath now before he didn't have a chance to later? Should he just breathe through his nose? When was the last time he had brushed his teeth?

Suddenly he heard giggling and noticed that she was no longer micro-meters away from him, but standing above him with a cruel smirk on her face. He looked up at her like the idiot he felt.

"Did you really think I would just kiss you like that?" Victoire Weasley laughed. "What kind of girl do you take me for?"

And poor Teddy Lupin's heart broke into ten thousand pieces that day.


	12. Stupidity

**Stupidity **

****

"I'm a git."

Harry turned on his side to face his best friend's bed. He saw the ginger boy staring at the ceiling of the dormitory.

"Yes," Harry agreed. "You are a git."

"No, I'm serious."

So was Harry.

"The morning when I woke up from being poisoned, I saw her crying at my bedside." Ron continued.

"Lavender was crying at your bedside?"

"And I was happy, Harry!" Ron went on, completely ignoring him. "I was happy that she was crying, like some sadistic moron."

"Lavender was crying and you were happy about it?" Harry asked, still not fully understanding his story.

"I suppose I was just happy that she had forgiven me."

"You mean for when you saw her in the hallway and told her you were looking for Romilda?" Harry asked. "It was just the love potion talking, Ron, she knows that now. Why shouldn't she have forgiven you?"

"Part of me didn't even want to get better," Ron admitted. "I wanted her to stay at my bedside forever."

"Lavender?!" Harry nearly shouted. "But you pretended to be asleep whenever she did!"

"Lavender?" Ron shoot up in his bed."You think I'm talking about Lavender Brown?"

"Wait...you're not?"

"No!" Ron shook his head fiercely. "She was the biggest pain in the arse I've ever had the misfortune meet, let alone date!"

"Then who _are_ you talking about?" Harry nearly shouted.

Ron sighed and laid back down on his bed. He turned to his side, so his back was facing Harry. In a small voice, Harry could barely make out the name that he whispered into the darkness.

"Hermione."


	13. Nightmare

**Nightmare**

She hurried down the deserted corridor wondering frantically how she had managed to become so late. The class had already begun and she was positive that her tardiness was going to cause Gryffindor more than a few house points. She was just in the mist of turning the corner when a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind and pinned her to a nearby wall. The surrounding portraits made sounds of purse distaste as her capture pressed his lips against hers passionately. Her sense of dread was instantly exchanged into a warm feel of content.

Only Ron kissed like that.

He pulled back slightly and smirked, "Well, what have we here?"

"I can't stay for long," she blushed. "I have to get to class."

"You're already late," he said coyly. "What's a few more minutes?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Nope," he smiled and began to leave a trail of kisses along her jaw. "I have a free right now...I was going to study with Harry, but I'm sure that can a wait for more _important _things."

"Such as?" the girl asked with a devilish smirk of her own.

"Spending quality time," he whispered. His breath was hot against her ear. "With my Lav-Lav..."

With a start, Hermione awoke to find that she had fallen asleep in her copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_. She ran a hand through her tangled curls and looked to see Ginny and Harry staring at her oddly.

Had it all just been a bad dream?

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked. "You were mumbling in your sleep."

"Oh..." Hermione started as her sleepy-eyes wandered around the common room. They rested on the forms of Ron and Lavendar Brown, unsurprisingly wrapped around each other tight. She felt her heart drop. "It's...nothing."

With that she closed her book and sadly made her way up to the girl's dormitory, leaving a trail of defeat in her wake.


	14. Forgiveness

**Forgiveness**

"Maybe this was a bad idea," She said as she twirled her hair around her finger. "Let's quit while we're ahead."

"You can't just run away."

"I'm not running. You were the one who pushed me away."

The room was a wide rectangle, so white that it was nearly blinding. Every chair and table was spaced apart so perfectly, making the room seem even more spacious and bare. They were sitting on the sofa which is hard and not at all comfortable. It was not the kind of sofa you cuddle into on a cold winter night, it was the kind of sofa you sit on only when there's something important going on. It was impossible to lounge on it without receiving a backache.

Aside from the ticketing grandfather clock in the far corner, there was a deafening silence that made a person do nothing but think. There was a large bay window that light poured through, bouncing off the pure white walls, giving everything a grey tint. It smelled like air freshener. Nothing was a warm welcome and everything felt cold to the touch. This wasn't a living room, it was a migraine.

"She doesn't mean anything to me," He stood from the sofa and made his way to the window. "You're the one I really love."

It was raining outside. Raindrops crashed against the glass in a slow, steady rhythm. A little reminder to both of them that there was a world outside their own.

"If that's so, then why did you sleep with her?"

It was an innocent question that she was completely justified to ask. He would have asked the same thing if the roles were reversed. The only thing was that he didn't have an answer.

"I don't know." He answered earnestly.

"Were you drunk?"

"No."

"Were you high?"

"No."

"Then you were just bored then."

He swallowed hard, knowing she was right. Of course he loved her once. But he had grown tired of her and his love for her had faded. He was sick of the same person day in and day out. He needed a change.

His cell phone rang from his pants pocket. Instantaneously he picked it up.

"Is it her?" she asked, crossing her legs and leaning her head in the palm on her hand. "The other woman?"

He didn't say anything; he simply held the phone in his hand and looked at the screen. The sinful name of the woman flashing, a constant reminder of what he had done.

"You shouldn't keep her waiting." She said, looking back at him. "She may get nervous and think you're cheating on her."

"Don't play that game with me." he hissed as he answered his phone. He talked as quickly and quietly as he possibly could, before hanging up.

Her eyes drifted towards the window and she watched the rain fall onto the street. The tree in front of her house that normally looked so full was soaked to the point where its branches sagged tiredly.

"You really should leave," she said. "We're not getting anything done."

"Don't do that to me," he quickly rushed over to her. "I made a mistake, and I know I can't take it back, but I promise you if I could I would."

"Would you really?"

He paused, and looked down.

She sighed and looked up.

"Just leave."

There was a crash of thunder and he hit the wall next to him so hard that she was sure he was going to dent it. His gritted teeth was a sure indicator that he was about to cry.

"Don't hit my wall."

"Please, don't do this," he whispered. "Remember how happy we were?"

"I didn't do anything," she said softly. "You were the one that cheated on me. I didn't do a thing."

He slowly made his way to the front door, as she opened it for him. More grey light shone into the room, basking them both. He turned to her.

"I've said sorry a hundred times," he pressed his lips together. "What do I have to say for you to forgive me?"

She remained silent, and he knew it was over.

With the grin that had won her heart, Ron sighed. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then, Lav-Lav."

She shut the door in his face.


	15. Mortality

**Mortality **

He stood quietly in Weasley's backyard as Ginny took quick snapshots of the scenery with the new camera Auntie Muriel had given her for her birthday. This, she told him, was her new thing. She wanted to take pictures of everything so she could always have memories. She wanted to make everything immortal.

As he watched her run about the yard, Harry allowed his mind to wander. He couldn't help but wonder if this new obsession with memories was due to Fred's recent passing. With that dark thought, he felt the all too familiar guilt rise from the pit of his stomach and grip his heart.

"Isn't that funny?" he heard Ginny say and was ripped from his thoughts.

"Isn't what funny?"

"Weren't you listening to a word I just said?" she asked and pointed to the small, brown rabbit that was now halfway across the yard. "That rabbit saw that I was taking pictures of it and stopped what it was doing just to stare at me. It was almost as if it was posing for me. Maybe it's a model or something."

Harry nodded, not really caring about the rabbit or its possible future modeling career. Ginny tilted her head to the side and pouted.

"What's the matter?" she asked as she made her way to him.

"Nothing," he sighed as Ginny wrapped her arms around his waist. "What are you doing?"

"Hugging you."

"I can see that, but why are you hugging me?"

"Because you're sad, and when people are sad you give them hugs."

"Maybe I don't want a hug," he said quietly as he buried his head in her soft hair that smelled like flowers and sun kisses. "Maybe my problems can't be solved with a hug."

"True, but you can't say it's not nice to be hugged by someone you love."

"Ginny," he mumbled into her hair. "Are you taking these pictures because of...what happened?"

"I guess you could say that," He felt her snuggle close to his body and smiled as she spoke. "If there's one thing Fred's death has shown me, it's that life is short. I want to capture life as much as I possibly can, both with this camera and without it. I want to live life to the fullest, just like he did."

"Do you...want to live life to fullest with me?"

"Of course I do," she said laughing. "Everyone else is boring compared to you!"


	16. Tactless

**Tactless**

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Al asked, more than a little skeptic.

"Of course, mate," James reassured as he pushed his younger brother through the common room. "All you have to do is go up to some girls and read what's on the card and you'll be the most talked about first year in Hogwarts."

"Wow, you really mean it?"

"Of course I do, have I ever steered you wrong before?"

"Well there was that one time-"

"Anyway!" James cut his brother off, "Now there are a bunch of girls over by the fireplace. Just read off the card and you'll be fine!"

Al nodded and somehow managed to walk over to the girls regardless of his shaking knees. When he approached them, he cleared his throat loudly and gained their attention.

"Um...I...I...I must h-have had some Felix Felicis because I...I think I'm about to get lucky." he stammered, reading off the card slowly. When he was done, he looked up at the girls and noticed they were eyeing him strangely. He looked down at the card, silently wondering what it meant, but decided to simply try reading the next card in his brother's stack.

"Er...how about...oh...um...I've been whomping my willow thinking about you." He looked up at the girls and noticed that they were blushing a deep shades of red and that one was getting really irraited. He figured he must've said whatever the line was incorrectly.

"Wait! Wait!" he begged flipping through the stacks of cards quickly. "Um...you know, the Sorting Hat placed me in Gryffindor. I think it's because like Godric Gryffindor himself, I too have an impressive sword!"

He looked up at the girls with a grin, hoping that he said at least the last line correctly. While he didn't know what any of these phrases meant, he was definitely getting a reaction from the girls, so he must've been doing something right.

"Why...you...dirty pervert!" one of the girls growled between grinted teeth and she lined her fist back and punched Al right in the nose. He stumbled back a few feet, clenching onto his now broken nose. At this, a second girl delivered a high roundhouse kick to the nape of his neck. He flew to ground in a bloody mess, and a moment later he heard someone yell, "STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

He looked up to see his cousin Victorie, the headgirl, making her way through the crowd and breaking up the ruckus. "All of you, get up into your rooms." she ordered as she knelt down to his level. "Al?! What the hell did you get yourself into?"

"I dunno, James said if I went up to a bunch of girls and read to them what he wrote on the cards that I would be the most talked about first year in Hogwarts but when I did that they looked at me funny so I kept reading all these different werid phrases that James wrote down but they got really angry and called me a a pervert and...and..." at this point the young boy began to cry. "You're not gonna exspell me are you?"

"Of course not Al, you'll be alright. Just run yourself down to Madame Pomfrey and she'll fix you right up" the head girl said as she flipped through the vulgar cards, her temper rising with each bad pickup line. The younger boy nodded and nearly sprinted out of the common room, when she was sure he was gone she looked around for the older Potter boy who was without a doubt laughing his head off, "JAMES POTTER, YOU GET YOUR NO GOOD ASS DOWN HERE THIS MINUTE!"


	17. Adoration

**Adoration**

Although it seemed extremely juvenile, the students in the Gryffindor common room loved handing out chocolate and cards for Valentines Day. During the day, many of the students waited anxiously to receive candy or a valentine from the object of their own affections, and James Potter was no different.

He had already handed out all of his treats and watched intently as Lily finished handing out the last of her Valentines Day cards. She passed by him hastily, tossing his card carelessly at him.

Unaffected by her more than obvious lack of care, he read over the card that at one point read "I love you". However Lily, in an almost charming way, had defaced the card so it currently read, "I **ABSOLUTELY DESPISE** you".

He turned toward the girl's retreating form with a grin and called, "So when are we going on that date, Ms. Evans?"


	18. Denial

**Denial **

He had always thought of himself as a pretty lucky guy.

"Now, dad," his daughter said firmly, as she wagged her finger at him. "I'm going upstairs to get ready, and you just call me down when he comes, alright?"

He was a good father; his children always did extremely well in school. Both had gotten exceptional marks on their O.W.L.s and he was sure it would be the same case with their N.E.W.T.s. They were also well behaved, always properly dressed, and never any trouble to anyone.

"Sure, sweetie," he lied between his teeth. "I'd do anything for my girl."

They were so perfect that he had sometimes found himself up at night wondering if they were actually his children, or if his wife had been having a fling with the mail man.

"I'm serious; please don't do anything to scare him away."

"That depends, if I agree will you tell me who this mystery boy is who's picking my daughter up for a date?"

He couldn't help but grin when he saw his daughter blush and turn her head away, stubbornly. She was such her mother's daughter. He was never stubborn, that was completely his wife, never him. Ever.

"You'll only find out if you open the door, now won't you?"

He laughed at her retreating form as she marched upstairs to her room. His son was like him - or the mailman, whichever- he always had something to fire back, but his daughter was different. It was always so much easier to press her buttons and ruffle her feathers. It must be a teenage girl thing to get mad at every little thing.

After a half hour or so, he heard the door bell ring. He quickly jumped up to answer the door, but was stopped by someone pulling his sleeve.

"Wait a moment," he heard his wife say from behind him.

"Why?"

"You should always let them wait a bit."

"Again…why?"

"It's just something that you do. You mustn't rush over to the door and swing it open so quickly, you'll seem too eager. I thought everybody knew that."

The door bell rang again.

"Not everybody is as crazy women, love." He said as he stared at the door. "So am I allowed to open it now, or are they going to have their date through the mail slot?"

Her frowned deepened as she swatted his arm and told him to go.

"Hey Rosie," he called up the stairs as he opened the front door. "Your mystery man is here."

He opened the door quickly with a smile that was instantly gone the moment he saw who exactly it was ringing his doorbell.

"O-O-Oh! Hello, Mr. Weasley," the boy stammered. Seeing the man's expression had instantly made him nervous. "Uh...I'm Scorpius Malfoy, and I've come to pick up Rose for our date. Um…is she home, sir?"

"No." Ron answered as he slammed the door in the boy's face, ignoring the yells from both his daughter and wife.


	19. Outrageous

**Outrageous**

"I'd really appreciate it if you quit that stuff."

Ron gave his friend a quizzical stare, and watched as he pointed to his mouth.

"The gum, Ron," he said, disgusted. "It's really annoying."

The redhead smirked, blowing a small bubble before sucking it back in and snapping it inside his mouth. He laughed as his friend grimaced.

"There are worst habits in the world than chewing gum, Harry," Ron explained between chews. "And besides, this is special gum; it's from my brother's shop. I'm sort of obligated to chew it, you know?"

"I know that, but I don't think you're obligated to chew it constantly," Harry explained. "I'm sure George would be satisfied with you purchasing a less irritable candy."

"Maybe," he answered with a shrug. "But it would be less fun."

Ron stepped ahead and opened the door to their destination, the shop holder behind the glass counter looking extremely dull until he saw Harry step in after the redhead.

"Does Hermione find your habit fun?" Harry asked ignoring the women in the shop who pointed to him as they whispered.

Ron laughed at the question as he peered into the glass case holding many different types of rings.

"Need any help, sir?" The eager shop keeper asked, rubbing his hands together nervously.

"Yeah," Ron said shoving his hands into his pockets with a smile. "I probably could."

Later that night, Hermione enjoyed a peaceful dinner with Ron in their small London apartment. As she began clearing the table, Ron stood up and offered to do it for her. The brunette eyed her boyfriend suspiciously.

"Since when do you offer to clear the table?"

"I'm feeling generous tonight," he said with a shrug. "But could you do me a favor and fetch my sweater from the living room?"

She agreed and made her way to the living room as he cleaned up. Hermione lifted the sweater and from one of its pockets dropped Ron's packet of gum. She draped the sweater over her arm and picked up the small pack with disgust. The sound of Ron chewing it as he walked through the apartment went through her like nails on a chalk board.

She looked over her shoulder to see that Ron was out of sight, and made her way to a nearby opened window. Swiftly, she tossed the wretched candy through the window, hoping to at least have some peace and quiet for one night.

Hermione returned to the kitchen to see Ron drying his hands with a dish towel.

"Thanks," he said as he took the sweater from her and quickly slipped it on, hands instantly going to his pockets. However, he found them both empty. His face paled.

"Are you alright, Ron?" she asked, concerned.

"Um, Hermione," Ron's voice cracked as he attempted to dig into his pockets in hopes of finding a secret compartment of some sort. "Was there anything in my pockets when you took the sweater?"

"Yes, a packet of that disgusting gum," she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Honestly Ron, I can't stand the noise of you chewing that. You sound like a cow, and it's completely intolerable."

"Yeah, you've told me about a dozen times. But where is it?"

"I threw it out."

"What? Where?" Ron's eyes widened, looking around panicked. "I didn't see you come in here and throw it into the garbage!"

"Because I didn't throw it into the garbage, I threw it out of the window because-"

"YOU THREW IT OUT THE WINDOW?!" Ron screamed, running around to every window in the apartment, with Hermione right on his heels. "WHY WOULD YOU THROW THAT OUT OF THE WINDOW?"

"Ron, why are you yelling? It's only a packet of gum!"

"YEAH, IT'S ONLY A PACKET OF GUM WITH YOUR ENGAGMENT RING IN IT!" He screamed not thinking, he was too busy leaning out the living room window. Their apartment was on one of the building's higher floor, and the ground below was dark and covered with shrubbery.

"My...my what?" Hermione stammered, but the shock quickly wore off when she realized the predicament. "YOU IDIOT, WHY WOULD YOU PUT MY ENGAGEMENT RING IN YOUR GUM PACKET?"

"I wanted to surprise you!"

"Yeah, I'm surprised alright! My engagement ring was thrown out the window!"

"Well who threw it out there in the first place?!"

"I didn't know it was inside! What were you planning to do with my ring in your gum packet?!"

"I…I was going to offer you a piece of gum that was sticking out," he said, growing quiet. "And when you would have reached for a stick…the ring would've been around it."

"Oh Ron…" Hermione said, tears filling her eyes. "That would've been so sweet."

"Hey now, don't cry," Ron cooed, taking her into his arms as she buried her face in his sweater. "It's alright; you didn't mean to do it. I shouldn't have told you what it was anyway, I really messed that one up."

She muffed something into his chest that he couldn't make out.

"What was that, Hermione?"

"I said yes," she laughed raising her head, her eyes meeting his. "You twit."

"Yeah I am a twit, aren't I?" he smiled.

"No I mean, yes I'll marry you."

Ron's smile slowly grew as eyes widened in disbelief. Hermione laughed harder, rising herself on her tiptoes.

"But on one condition," she said quietly, her mouth inches from his. "You get my ring back, and quit chewing that disgusting gum."

"No problem," he grinned as he closed the space between them. "You're sweeter than any candy."


	20. Alternatives

**Alternatives**

The ceiling above him ratted as a second occupant of the house ran down the stairs.

"Harry?" he heard, but he didn't answer.

The rattling continued as the runner sprinted upwards, exploring the second floor of the house for his whereabouts. A few minutes later, they were running back down again.

"Harry, c'mon this isn't funny," the voice rang, their steps gentle as they stepped down the hallway. "We still have cleaning to...oh!"

Ginny stopped when she saw two long legs sticking out from the cupboard beneath the staircase. Dropping to her knees, she opened the cupboard door to its widest, crawling inside and squeezing herself besides to him.

"Hi," she said lamely, tucking her red hair behind her ear as she turned to him.

"Hi," he answered, still staring at the ceiling. The rims of his glasses were covered with dust from the old cupboard.

"Any particular reason you're hiding? Well, asides from not wanting to help me clean, that is."

"I was cleaning," he explained, his voice distant. "I was sweeping the hall when I noticed that there was a cupboard under this staircase."

"_Our_ staircases," she corrected, smiling. "We own this house now, staircases and all."

"I suppose...did you know I used to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs? Back at the Dursley's, that is. Before Hogwarts."

"Yes, Ron told me," she frowned, the freckles on her nose wrinkling with distain. "I'm not a fan of..._those_ muggles."

"My Letter from Hogwarts was addressed to 'The Cupboard Under the Stairs'...most likely Dumbledore was taking a knack at the Dursley's for mistreating me all those years."

"I would have given them more than a knack if I knew you were being kept in the closet," she murmured into his shoulder, lancing her thin fingers between his own. "Treating you like rubbish all those years..."

He laughed slightly, bringing her hand to his lips, kissing it softly.

"It all ended for best," he said softly, "but I still can't help but wonder what would have happened if I never got that letter. If I stayed in the cupboard forever."

"Probably would have gotten shipped to some terrible muggle school, worked at a terrible muggle job and married a terrible muggle woman who was not nearly as attractive, intelligent or witty as me," she winked with a coy smile. "You also would have a lot of cats."

"And the both the Wizarding and Muggle world would be in jeopardy," Harry finished, still finding it unbelievable that his life could have changed so drastically in such a short amount of time. "If not destroyed."

"Possibly," Ginny answered, looking up so her eyes met his emerald orbs. "But the cat thing would've definitely happened."


	21. Fresh

**Fresh**

She heard the slight creaking of the floorboards before his voice had hit her ear.

"Hey," he whispered, as he shook her gently. "Hermione, wake up."

She groaned in protest, curling deeper into her blankets. She was tired, they had recently aided their friend in saving the world, an achievement she believed deserved some sleep.

"C'mon," his voice came again, sterner than before, but still low enough not to wake his sister on the adjacent bed. "It's important."

"What is, Ron?" she sighed, opening her eyes sleepily. She was happy her face was covered by her comforter, shielding her emotions as his freckled face grinned down at her.

"I'll show you when you're dressed, you got 15 minutes before Mum wakes up."

He quickly exited the room, leaving Hermione to get changed. She sighed exasperatedly, she hated being left in the dark and when it came to Ron she really never knew what to expect.

Though it had been a few weeks after the final battle, Hermione still wasn't exactly sure what their relationship was. As she dressed, she wondered what kind of surprise Ron had in store for her. Considering how things had been going, she knew it would be silly to hope anything romantic from her best friend turned maybe-boyfriend.

One minute, he was sweet and caring, giving her the impression that their relationship was progressing. The next, they were bickering over something ridiculous, demoting themselves back to their status three years prior.

Leaving a note scrawled on a piece of parchment for Ginny, Hermione tip-toed down the stairs of the Burrow, meeting Ron as he waited outside, hands deep in his pockets.

"Smells fresh! That's how you know it's springtime!" he smiled, taking a deep breath of their air. "Been a while since I've been home this time of year, usually we're still at school. Kinda missed it."

"You didn't honestly drag me out here to tell me that, did you?"

"Of course not, c'mere," he motioned, taking her arm tugging her close. There was a loud crack, as they apparated, appearing in a familiar looking field. Looking around, Hermione realized they were outside of Hogsmead.

"Hogsmead?" she asked, looking up at Ron confused. "But why?"

"When the weather gets nicer, the whole town becomes one big outdoor bazaar," he explained, taking her hand and interlocking her fingers with his. "To celebrate the end of the war, they've been doing it everyday. It's pretty nice."

He lead her through the streets, watching all the witches and wizards flicked their wands to set up shop for the day. Some waved at the duo, remembering their faces from issues of The Daily Prophets, others watched baffled, wondering why a young couple was out so early in the morning.

They found an empty bench to sit, and Ron flopped down, stretching backwards as she sat beside him.

"Remember in our third year," he began, turning her slightly with a grin. "Before Harry got permission from Sirius, we would wander here together during our trips?"

"We did that after Harry joined us too," she persisted, but Ron shook his head.

"Nah, it was different when it was just the two of us."

They sat in silence, Hermione fiddling with the ends of her sleeves while Ron looked upwards, lost in his own train of thought.

"I liked those days," he said at last, and she turned to him in shock.

"You mean without Harry? Ron how-"

"Not that," he waved her concerns away, "Harry's my best mate, you know that. I mean, when it was just the two of us. Not worrying about saving the day, or uncovering some deep rooted conspiracy theory...just being, kids, y'know?"

"Oh," she said, face slightly flushed as he took her hand, still cut from the battle, and lightly pecked it.

Still blushing, she opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when she noticed Ron staring absently at something behind her, her hand still in his. She looked over her shoulder to see the closed and boarded up Zonko's Joke shop. Resting on the window was a sign that read, "Coming Soon! Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!" with the signature of both Fred and George.

"Ron, I-"

"I hope George doesn't give up on the shop," he interrupted, not really listening to what she was about to say. "Fred would roll in his grave if he did, literally."

"Figuratively," she corrected automatically. She bit her lip the second it was out of her mouth, aware of her tactlessness. He turned back to her, the far away look in his eyes softening into a smile.

"Right as always," he smiled, standing up and pulling her up by the hand. "C'mon, they seem to be opening. Wanna get some breakfast? I'm starving."

They made their way to the Hog's Head, both nodding friendlily at Aberforth who nodded back, grumbling over what food to give kids their age. He returned moments later, with food that looked surprisingly edible.

"Nice to see he's still as grumpy as ever," Ron said, between a mouthful of food.

"He's seemed to have tidied up the place...slightly," Hermione noted as the pub seemed a little less dingy and dirty than before. They could actually see through the windows, which provided some sunlight in the otherwise dark bar.

They reminisced on their old D.A. meetings, laughing and nodding over their stories. When they had finished eating, Ron beat Hermione to the bill, paying it in full as well as generally tipping Aberforth. The old wizard looked surprised at the sum, mumbling under his breath that he was surprised that Ron could tip so well.

"He did save our lives twice," Ron shrugged as they left, "least I could do was give him a nice tip."

The rest of the day they spent walking through the shops as well as the booths keepers had setup outside. They relived all their memories there, all their little augments and squabbles. They laughed at each of them, and how stupid they both (but mostly Ron) had been.

They were just leaving Honeydukes, when Hermione caught sight of Hogwarts in the distance. The castle was currently undergoing renovations from the battle, but the letter Professor McGonagall had sent to the students promised that the school would reopen for the September term.

"Are you...will you be going back?" she asked, pointing to the castle in the distance as Ron popped a Chocoball into his mouth, and chewed in thought. He sat on another bench as she followed suit, waiting for his response.

"I'm not sure," he answered finally, offering Hermione the box. "On one hand, Mum would be livid if I didn't finish school. Though, on the other, it's kind of hard to picture myself at a desk after all we've been through, y'know?"

She did, and nodded as she turned her Chocoball between her fingers. She wanted to finish school though, but the idea of going through Hogwarts without her two best friends made her feel uneasy. Especially now that one of the two was her boyfriend...kinda...

"It's gonna melt," Ron pointed out, breaking her from her thoughts to the soft Chocoball in her hand. "Gimme."

Plucking it from her hand, he opened his mouth at her, signally her to mimic. Blushing furiously, she turned away.

"For heaven's sake, Ron," she mumbled, still blushing. "That's hardly appropriate."

"Oh, c'mon. It's fine," he grinned, scooting closer so the Chocoball was right in front of her. "Say 'ahhh"!"

"RO-" her mouth was wide enough for him to stick the chocolate in her mouth, taking her by surprise. She chewed the chocolate slowly, beat red, and annoyed as he licked the chocolate residue from his fingers.

"You should lighten up a bit."

He laughed as she crossed her leg's, obviously irritated. Leaning over, he left a tiny peck on her cheek. While she didn't look back at him, her demeanor eased.

"If you _do_ go back to Hogwarts, I'll go with you," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning back on the bench. "I mean, I couldn't possibility pass without you anyway."

"Oh, is that all?" she huffed, as he took hold of her hand.

"Obviously that's not all, don't be daft," he smiled as she turned to him, her cheeks still flushed. "I'd miss you like mad, Hermione."

He continued to hold her hand as she avoided his glance. She felt like they were in limbo for the last few weeks, not understanding where they were in their relationship. She was logical, organized, and being in the gray area between friendship and courtship frustrated her immensely.

Furrowing her brow, she quickly turned to tell Ron off, and demand that he labeled their status. She was met with is lips however, washing the anger from her mind and replacing it with a warm feeling only he could provide.

The kiss was tender and chaste, still hesitant, as if he was as unsure as she was. Somehow through her spinning mind, she managed to process that this was Ron, the boy with an emotional range of a teaspoon.

As he pulled away for air, he leaned his forehead against hers, the taste of Chocoballs still on her lips.

It was unfair of her to demand that he tell her exactly what this was, because it was obviously different. He had taken her to Hogsmead, spent the day with her reflecting on their friendship, laughing about their past, all to show her how different he wanted their future.

The pads of his thumbs ran across her knuckles tenderly, and she laughed at her own stubbornness. She smiled against his lips as she kissed him again, this time with enough passion to show him that she wanted to take the next step, with him, together.


End file.
